Wham! The Final Wembley Stadium 28th June 1986
Support from Gary Glitter and Nick Heyward.
Im May 1986 Wham! announced that they were to split and that they would play one final concert at Wembley Stadium. My mate Dave and I decided to go and see Wham! for one last time. I remember the journey to London well, as we decided that, instead of using the train as we often did when going to concerts in the capital, this time we would try out the North East’s new(ish) Non-stop Clipper bus service. The service was advertised quite heavily on TV at the time with a cheesy tune: “From Newcastle to London, from London back home….Non-stop Clipper, here it comes!” The Non-stop Clipper was a double decker bus, converted for longer journeys with a toilet and somewhere to sell stotties 🙂 but it was basically still a standard double decker bus. We decided to sit right up front on the top deck, to get the most out of our Non-stop Clipper experience. Now, I can tell you, it’s quite a strange, disconcerting experience, sitting up there on the top deck, overlooking the motorway, cruising for a few hours. Nonetheless it got us to London safe and on time and also at a fraction of the price of the train. I think we took a bus very early in the morning, which got us down to London early afternoon. Then we made our way across London to join 72,000 eager Wham! fans.
The show was a big celebration of Wham! and featured a career-spanning set of hits, and special guest appearances from Elton John who sang Candle in the Wind with George, and Simon le Bon who joined the duo for the encore. There was also a screening of the new Wham! film, Foreign Skies, which was shot during their tour of China. Support came from now disgraced star Gary Glitter and ex Haircut 100 front man Nick Heyward. There were big video screens and two giant walkways for George and Andrew to get close to the adoring crowd who screamed and screamed. There were also many tears, particularly during the last songs, as the reality hit home that this was the last time we would all see Wham! And then it was over. And this was one final that really was final. No reunion tour (not yet anyway). We made our way out of the packed stadium, wandered down Wembley Way with the crowds, and across to Victoria where we boarded our trusty midnight Non-stop Clipper which took us back up North and home. We arrived back early Sunday morning.
Setlist: Everything She Wants; Club Tropicana; Heartbeat; Battlestations; Bad Boys; If You Were There; The Edge of Heaven; Candle in the Wind (with Elton John); Credit Card Baby; Like a Baby; Love Machine; Where Did Your Heart Go?; Why (Carly Simon cover); Last Christmas; Wham! Rap; A Different Corner; Freedom; Careless Whisper; Young Guns (Go for It!); Wake Me Up Before You Go Go
Encore: I’m Your Man (with Simon Le Bon)
That concludes my coverage of Wham! Back to some rock tomorrow 🙂
Posts Tagged ‘music’
16 Jan
Wham! The Final Wembley Stadium 28th June 1986
15 Jan
Wham! Whitley Bay Ice Rink 11th Dec 1984 The Big Tour
Wham! Whitley Bay Ice Rink 11th Dec 1984 The Big Tour
Support act: Pepsi and Shirley; DJ Gary Crowley.
A year later and Wham! were back. This time, for their visit to the North East, they played three sold out shows at the massive cold, and cavernous, Whitley Bay Ice Rink. I attended the second show. The tour was entitled “The Big Tour” in support of their second album “Make it Big”. By now Wham! weren’t just big; they were a massively successful chart act and a hot concert attraction. They had reached the No. 1 spot in the UK singles charts on three occasions (three No. 1s in a row, in fact) with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Careless Whisper” (George Michael solo) and “Freedom”, and they had just released the Christmas single “Last Christmas” which reached No. 2.
Whitley Bay Ice Rink is situated near Newcastle and is the home of the Whitley Warriors ice hockey team. In the 1980s it was the North East’s main rock concert venue, and remained so until Newcastle Arena opened in 1995. By the 1980s each city wanted its own arena, so venues which were not ideal were used for large concerts as acts outgrew theatres and civic halls. Whitley Bay Ice Rink started hosting concerts with a show by the Jam in 1982 followed by AC/DC, The Cure, Kylie Minogue, Oasis, Take That and others. Standing on top of an ice rink covered in wooden boards was not the best setting for a gig, and it was always very cold, and the sound wasn’t great.
However the kids who poured into the Ice Rink to see Wham! didn’t care how cold it was; they were getting to see their heroes. The gig was a wild affair with lots of screaming girls, and George and Andrew performing all their hits. By now it was very much about George, and the loudest screams were reserved for him, particularly when he sang “Careless Whisper”. The concert was an all standing affair; and I spent the evening wandering around the hall, surrounded by 8,000 screaming girls. The show was great fun, and it was an experience to witness Wham! at the peak of their sucess.
The next time I saw the duo was at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on 13th July 1985. George Michael sang “Dont let the sun go down on me” with Elton John while Andrew Ridgeley joined Kiki Dee in the row of backing singers. I saw them one further time, at their Final concert, again at Wembley, a year later in 1986. I’ll write about that concert tomorrow to conclude my Wham! series.
14 Jan
Wham! Newcastle City Hall 15th Oct 1983 The Club Fantastic Tour
Wham! Newcastle City Hall 15th Oct 1983
Real guilty pleasure time; this is. I have to admit to secretly liking Wham! in the ’80s, and going to see them not once, not twice, but three times. So, for my sins, over the next three days I am going to reflect on those three experiences, at least two of which were actually pretty great fun. I’ll start today with my Wham! live initiation, which was the “Club Fantastic Tour” when it called at Newcastle City Hall in 1983.
I’d seen George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley on Top of the Pops performing “Young Guns (Go for It!)” and thought they were good fun. They seemed to burst onto the scene as a pure pop alternative to some of the more serious bands of the time. By the end of 1983, Wham! were competing against the Durannies and Boy George and Culture Club as Britain’s biggest new pop act, and their début LP “Fantastic” spent two weeks at No. 1 in the UK album charts in 1983. I’d been to see most of the other top pop acts of the period, so when Wham! announced a tour I decided to go along to the City Hall concert, which quickly sold out. The tour was sponsored by Fila Sportswear, and George and Andrew modelled Fila clothes on stage. They were both dressed all in white, their t-shirts emblazoned with “Wham!” and wearing white shorts, down which they famously placed shuttlecocks (or at least the press claimed so).
They were augmented by a full band (with a rhythm and brass section), and backing vocalists including the two legendary dancers/singers Pepsi and Shirlie (one of their earlier backing singers, Dee (D C Lee) had defected to the Style Council by the time of the tour, and later married Paul Weller). The keyboard player in the band was Tommy Eyre from Joe Cocker’s Grease Band who provided the swirling Hammond sound on the UK chart-topper “With A Little Help From My Friends”.
The concert started with an hour or so of dance records played by the tour resident DJ and compere, Gary Crowley. Wham! played two sets (featuring several costume changes), and between the two spots they showed us home videos of our two heroes. George had a solo spot to sing “Careless Whisper” over a taped backing track, and the show featured all the hits. It was actually great fun (honest 🙂 ) and there was lots of dancing going on, while I stood quietly observing, and yet secretly enjoying the whole thing. Don’t they both look so young on the cover of the programme. And remember at this time, Wham! were truly a duo, with George and Andrew sharing equal billing. The programme presents the band as fun, but serious, white soul / dance act; which to give them credit, I guess they were. I found a flyer in the programme for a concert by K C and the Sunshine band which took place at the City Hall the following week. Now I bet that was a fun night too.
Setlist: Young Guns (Go for It!); Club Tropicana; Blue; Wham! Rap; A Ray of Sunshine; Careless Whisper; Bad Boys; Love Machine; Nothing Looks the Same in the Light; Come On!; Wham! Rap; Good Times.
More guilty pleasures tomorrow, I’m afraid.
13 Jan
Steve Winwood York Barbican Centre 3rd March 2004
Steve Winwood York Barbican Centre 3rd March 2004
The next time I saw Steve Winwood was more than 20 years later at a concert at York Barbican Centre. David was a student at Leeds at the time, and I drove down to York and met him at York station. This was my second visit to the Barbican, having been there once before to see Jethro Tull. The concert was all standing with a modest crowd gathered to see Winwood. Although the ticket lists “Special Guests”, I am pretty sure that this wasn’t the case and that there was no support act, with Steve playing two sets. The concert was very much a run through his career from the ’60s onward, with selections from his time in The Spencer Davis Group, Blind Faith, Traffic and his solo work. The concert came at the time of his eight solo album “About Time” and he was accompanied by an excellent band with heavy use of percussion, which reminded me of the Rebop era Traffic. A great show and a chance to get very close to a legend.
Based on a setlist from the London show on the same tour it is likely that the set was something like this:
Set 1. Pearly Queen (Traffic); Different Light; Cigano (for the Gypsies); Empty Pages (Traffic); Can’t Find My Way Home (Blind Faith); Crossroads; I’m a Man (Spencer Davis); Glad (Traffic); Freedom Rider (Traffic).
Set 2: Talking Back to the Night; Bully; Higher Love; Who Knows What Tomorrow May Bring (Traffic); Keep On Running (Spencer Davis Group); Back in the High Life Again; Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic); Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic).
Encore: Why Can’t We Live Together?; Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group)
Band: Steve Winwood (vocals, Hammond), José Piresde de Almeida Neto (guitar), Walfredo Reyes, Jr. (drums, percussion), Karl Vanden Bossche (congas), Richard Bailey (timbales), Karl Denson (sax, flute).
I’ve seen Steve Winwood a couple of times since then, once at the Sage and once at Wembley Arena when he toured with Eric Clapton, and I’ve already blogged about those concerts.
12 Jan
Steve Winwood Newcastle City Hall 6th July 1983
Steve Winwood Newcastle City Hall 6th July 1983
This was Steve Winwood’s first full solo tour, and was in support of his third solo album “Talking Back to the Night”. Winwood was on a high at the time; having had considerable success with his first two albums “Winwood” and “Arc of a Diver’ and chart hits with “While You See a Chance” and “Valerie”. He had recorded the albums at his home in Gloucestershire playing all instruments himself, and this was the first time that he had gone out and played the songs live in concert with a band. I went along with my mate Ian and we were secretly hoping that he might play a clutch of Traffic and Spencer Davis Group songs. We had seats close to the stage and a great view of Winwood, and his excellent band and he did indeed play some of those songs we were hoping for later in the concert. I wasn’t familiar with a lot of Steve’s solo material apart from the singles, but was pleasantly surprised by how quickly I got into the new songs. Winwood is one of our top artists from the 60s, with an incredibly soulful voice, a very under-rated guitar and Hammond organ player and he always looks incredibly fit and so young, to this day. 
My favourite has always been “No Face, No Name, No Number” but I don’t think he played that particular song at this concert. However we were treated to a clutch of classics from the ’60s which included “Somebody Help Me”, “I’m a Man”, “Keep On Running” and “Gimme Some Lovin'”, along with Traffic’s “Dear Mr Fantasy”. Great stuff.
Setlist will probably have been something like this: Roadrunner; Help Me Angel; Arc of a Diver; Valerie; It Was Happiness; Second-Hand Woman; Vacant Chair; Talking Back to the Night; Slowdown Sundown; Dust; Night Train; Somebody Help Me (Spencer Davis Group); Low Spark of High Heeled Boys (Traffic); Dear Mr. Fantasy (Traffic); I’m a Man (Spencer Davis Group); Big Girls Walk Away; And I Go; Your Silence Is Your Song; While You See a Chance.
Encore: Keep On Running (Spencer Davis Group); Still in the Game; Gimme Some Lovin’ (Spencer Davis Group).
Steve Winwood band: James Hooker (piano), Bobby Messano (guitar), Eric Parker (drums), Carole Steele (percussion), Fernando Sanders (bass/vocals), Godfrey Wang (keyboards).
11 Jan
W.A.S.P. Newcastle Mayfair Rock Night 21st Sep 1984
W.A.S.P. Newcastle Mayfair Rock Night 21st Sep 1984
It was Friday Rock night at Newcastle Mayfair and the headline band was a new act, called W.A.S.P. Now W.A.S.P. are an American heavy metal band, whi formed in 1982, and emerged from the same L.A. scene as Van Halen, Mötley Crüe, and Ratt (and later Guns N’ Roses). There has been a lot of speculation about what the band’s name means, and whether it actually stands for anything. One interpretation is “White Anglo-Saxon Protestants”, particularly as the early W.A.S.P. song “Show No Mercy” contains the repeated line “White Anglo-Saxon / A violent reaction”. However, the original U.S. release of their debut album had the words “We Are Sexual Perverts” inscribed on both sides around the label in the center. When asked about the band’s name leader Blackie Lawless avoided giving a straight answer: “We Ain’t Sure, Pal.” In a later interview, Lawless stated the main reason for the name was the full stops (periods), and that they created a “question mark of uncertainty” to make W.A.S.P. stand out more.
These guys were crazy, wild heavy rock theatre. From the fold-out poster programme that I bought at the gig”: “W.A.S.P. is extreme heavy metal. They don’t stop with leather and studs, chains and spikes – they wield circular sawblades onto metal codpieces and armbands. Bare-assed on stage, they throw raw meat at the audience and drink blood from a skull – and this is only the beginning. Blackie Lawless (leader, lead singer, bass, songwriter) hung out with Ace Frehley (Kiss) in a tough street gang until being seriously stabbed at the age of 13. He went on to a two-year sentence at a military school in Florida. After 18 months Blackie was expelled for beating up a sergeant major, but he broke his knuckles in the process….Blackie took up guitar and did a stretch with the notorious New York Dolls. Randy Piper (guitar) quit school at 15 and slowly worked his way to L.A. He worked 10 days in Disneyland sweeping up, before getting fired for drunkenness. Tony Richards (drums) got himself thrown out of a dozen different schools for various kinds of anti-social behavior by the time he was 15. Included with the more common fighting, drinking and drug charges were getting caught in the closet with a young female teacher and burning the school’s football team’s equipment. Chris Holmes (guitar), the madman whose mother was a Hells Angel (and still beats the shit out of people who argue too much). Chris was kicked out of school at the tender age of 7 – for savagery. These four guys were obviously meant for each other.”
Is this for real ? 🙂
The programme went on: “By May of 1983, W.A.S.P. could sell out the 3000 seat Santa Monica Civic and put on a show that was truly over the top and very controversial. Blackie arranged for a Red Cross Blood Drive during a three-day sod-out run at the Troubadour: fans who gave blood would get in free. But when the Red Cross found out that Blackie drinks animal blood on stage, they didn’t want the band’s blood, or most of the fan’s blood, either. A greater controversy exists over the ‘rack’ [W.A.S.P. would torture a girl on a rack on stage] and feminist groups condemn the onstage treatment of women by W.A.S.P. …YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.”
W.A.S.P. had just released their latest single “Animal (**** Like a Beast)” and their eponymous debut album, and delighted the Geordie rock crowd with a typically OTT performance of slabs of heavy metal, and very un-PC rock theatre. Good unclean fun. Support came from UK NWOBHM glamsters Wrathchild. I saw W.A.S.P. again at Donington a few years later, and they were equally crazy. Now a Born Again Christian, Blackie Lawless continues to lead W.A.S.P to this day.
Setlist: On Your Knees; The Flame; Hellion; L.O.V.E. Machine; Sleeping (in the Fire); Tormentor; School Daze; The Torture Never Stops; I Wanna Be Somebody; Animal (*** Like a Beast)
9 Jan
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
The Waterboys Newcastle Tiffany’s 30th April 1986
Mike Scott and his Waterboys were on a rock’n’roll journey from “The Big Music” to the raggle taggle gypsy Celtic folk band that they became in the late 80s. This was Mike and the band at the top of their game, not long after the success of “Whole of the Moon”, yet choosing not to play that song and instead sweeping a ram-packed Tiffany’s along with joyous big swirling sounds, and a few carefully chosen covers. “The Big Music” filled the ballroom; I was standing on the balcony looking down onto the stage and the packed sweaty dance floor below, and it felt like any minute the roof would come off. Mike was one minute the rock star, the next a folk troubadour, and then he became a seer taking us all on a spiritual journey through the kaleidoscope of his music. He was Dylan when he sang “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” for us, and then Tex Ritter leading a country band into “The Wayward Wind”. And then we were transported to the Streets of Dublin, dancing to a Celtic fiddle band. This was one of those gigs where we all walked out into the cold night knowing we had experienced something pretty special.
Setlist: Medicine Bow; Be My Enemy; Medicine Jack; Fisherman’s Blues; The Thrill Is Gone / And The Healing Has Begun; Meet Me At The Station; A Girl Called Johnny; The Pan Within; I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight; We Will Not Be Lovers; Spirit / The 4 Ages Of Man; Savage Earth Heart; This Is The Sea
Encore: The Wayward Wind; A Pagan Place; Can’t Help Falling In Love; Red Army Blues
Encore 2: Death Is Not the End
8 Jan
War Newcastle City Hall 14th June 1976
War Newcastle City Hall 14th June 1976
Support from Moon
I was aware of War through their association with the great Eric Burdon. They are an American funk rock band from California, known for their hit songs “Low Rider” and “Why Can’t We Be Friends?”. War’s music fuses elements of rock, funk, jazz, Latin, rhythm and blues, and reggae. The band are also known for breaking down racial and cultural barriers with their multi-ethnic line-up. As their name suggests, there was a serious political and cultural context to the band concept and War’s lyrics were often socio-political in nature.
“The year was 1969, and these ‘kids’ had the nerve to carry the name WAR at a time when peace was the slogan in an anti-Vietnam America. “Our mission was to spread a message of brotherhood and harmony”.
“Our instruments and voices became our weapons of choice and the songs our ammunition. We spoke out against racism, hunger, gangs, crimes, and turf wars, as we embraced all people with hope and the spirit of brotherhood. It’s just as apropos today” “Eric was ready to throw in the towel on the music scene and return to Newcastle. He was tired of the ‘rock’ thing and desperate for a fresh authentic sound….Eric was so blown away by what he had heard that he jumped on stage to jam with them.” WAR from the beginning was a concept & musical laboratory.” (from the official War site).
The City Hall was far from full for this concert, which was a shame because it was a great performance from a band who are now legends. I don’t pretend to be a massive fan of jazz funk, but I really enjoyed the concert. I remember them playing ‘Lone Rider’, ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’ and ‘Me And Baby Brother’, which was a single at the time.
The line up of War at the time was Howard E. Scott (guitar and vocals); Lee Oskar (harmonica and vocals); Thomas “Papa Dee” Allen (percussion and vocals; Charles Miller (saxophone and vocals); B.B. Dickerson (bass and vocals); Leroy “Lonnie” Jordan (keyboards, vocals); Harold Ray Brown (drums and vocals).
Lennie Jordan continues to front War and a few years ago he reunited with Eric Burdon for a concert at the Albert Hall.
4 Jan
The Who Newcastle Metro Radio Arena 25th May 2007
The Who Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena, 25th May 2007
Support: Shack
The Who were on a roll and continued to tour throughout 2007, playing across Europe, the USA and headlining Glastonbury. Their set was similar to that which they had played during 2006, containing classic tracks and much of their, then current, “Endless Wire” album.
Setlist: I Can’t Explain; The Seeker; Relay; Who Are You; Behind Blue Eyes; Fragments; Real Good Looking Boy; Sound Round; Pick Up The Peace; Endless Wire; We Got A Hit; They Made My Dream Come True; Mirror Door; Baba O’Riley; Eminence Front; A Man In A Purple Dress; The Real Me; You Better You Bet; My Generation; Cry If You Want; Won’t Get Fooled Again.
Encore: Pinball Wizard; Amazing Journey; Sparks; See Me Feel Me; Tea And Theatre
That concludes my reminiscences of seeing The Who in concert. I have been to a few more Who gigs since 2007, but I have already blogged about those.
The Who are, without question, one of my favourite bands; alongside the Stones and the Groundhogs. There are few rock bands who can match their breadth and range of classic material, going from the great pop and mod singles of the mid 1960s, through the epic “Tommy” rock opera, the anthemic “Won’t Get Fooled Again” and to “Quadrophenia” (“A Way of Life” 🙂 ). My own particular favourites are “I Can See For Miles”, “The Seeker” and “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. I am also a big fan of “Tommy” and have grown to love “Quadrophenia” over the years, having now seen The Who perform it on four occasions. On a good night The Who are simply the best rock band in the world, and they have given me some of my best (and loudest 🙂 ) concert memories; including amazing gigs at Newcastle Odeon (1971 & 1973), Charlton (1974 & 1976) and Edinburgh Odeon (1979). And they still continue to deliver; the recent gig I saw at Newcastle Arena, which was part of their 50th anniversary tour, was excellent. I reckon I’ve seen The Who play 19 times to date; hope I get to see them at least once more.
3 Jan
The Who Wireless Festival Harewood House Leeds 25th June 2006
The Who Wireless Festival Harewood House Leeds 25th June 2006
Support from The Flaming Lips; The Zutons; Eels; Super Furry Animals; Robyn Hitchcock; The Answer; Casbah Club
Went with David to see The Who at the O2 Wireless festival at Harewood House, just outside Leeds. The ticket was a barcode on my phone, so no stub to post here 😦 The supporting line-up was strong with great performances from The Answer (an Irish rock’n’blues band in the mould of Free and ’70s rock), Eels, Robyn Hitchcock (retro psych genius) and Casbah Club (super modster band featuring Simon Townshend) performing on the main stage and in a marquee. The best performance, other than the Who, came from The Flaming Lips, with a spectacular theatrical show which featured front man Wayne surfing across the crowd in a giant hamster ball 🙂
The Who’s performance featured several new songs which would appear on their 11th album “Endless Wire”, the usual Tommy segment, old faves and some unexpected classics including “The Seeker” and “Relay”. Great stuff.
Setlist: Who Are You; I Can’t Explain; The Seeker; Anyway Anyhow Anywhere; Sound Round; Pick Up The Peace; Endless Wire; We Got A Hit; They Made My Dream Come True; Mirror Door; Baba O’Riley; Drowned; Relay; The Kids Are Alright; Behind Blue Eyes; Mike Post Theme; Cry If You Want; Pinball Wizard; Amazing Journey; See Me Feel Me
Encore: Substitute; Won’t Get Fooled Again
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